In an interview with Collider actor Mark Strong discussed how Avatar made everyone at Pixar sit up and take notice, mere days before they go into production in January.

Strong, who plays Matai Shang, the God-like ruler over the Fern people who spends his time being ripped and keeping tabs on the Universe, shared his thoughts on how Pixar's Andrew Stanton is ready to dominate James Cameron's Avatar with their own mo-cap/live action scifi film.

I mean it's "Avatar" type territory, and I think the point I was making before [is that] these Pixar guys are always wanting to be in the vanguard. They want to be leading from the front. They're giving the public stories that the public don't even know they want. I mean a story about a fish? A story about an old guy keeping his house? On paper, these must seem like, you know, how on earth are you going to carry those things off. Talking toys? Come on. But they... I think Andrew said they're in the business of giving the public what they want before they know they want it. So I can totally imagine he's gone to see "Avatar" and that'll just set the cogs whirring in his brain and the twinkle in his eye because he'll just want to surpass it, no question.

James Cameron Versus Pixar — it doesn't get much better than that. Sure Pixar, will have to upgrade their live action assimilation, since the Toy Story humans still reside deep in the uncanny valley. But story wise? Pixar, hands down. It should be interesting to see what they pull out.

As for Strong, he's signed on to make the entire John Carter movie trilogy that Pixar has planned as the heroes nemesis, if it beats Avatar, that is.

Iron Man 2:

So you've noticed that press clippings about Tony Stark are a big part of this sequel — and three of them have been appearing on various sites. The clippings talk about Tony Stark "coming out" as Iron Man, but they each have a different word highlighted: Secret, Stark, and Confession. Is Tony going to confess something else besides being Iron Man in the next film? [MTV]

John Carter Of Mars:

Mark Strong plays the villain, Matai Shang, and he's not doing any motion-capture — although his character is a shape-shifter, so he's had to be photographed by a 360 degree camera, so he can shift into things. He mostly turns into other people, says Strong. [ComingSoon]

Avatar:

Here's a new clip of dragon-flying excitement. [MTV]

And Sam Worthington and Sigourney Weaver were talking the film up on The View:

Dangerous Species:

Apparently Eli Roth's Cloverfield-esque film is no longer called Endangered Species. Or else somebody misheard him. [Collider]

Daybreakers:

Wondering just how crazy it gets when the future vampire population starts to run out of blood? Behold for yourself, in a new clip:

Doctor Who:

Another new trailer includes a bit of new footage of John Simm's Master rocking the weird bottle-blond/hoodie/collar look. [Thanks again CJ!]

Lost:

Michael Emerson says:

I think next year, after the conclusion of the final season, when people see the strength and style of how we go out, I expect Lost to have more recognition.

And he says Terry O'Quinn is continuing to do staggering work in the final season, and Josh Holloway is also having a really strong final season, with a gripping, moving storyline. [TV Guide Magazine]

Says Carlton Cuse:

I think we're doing something new in this final season narratively, so we have that combination of fear and giddiness. The fear is, oh, what if people don't like it, what if the audience doesn't like what we're doing?

[TV Guide]

The show was filming a beach scene with Locke, Ben, four scientists... and Widmore? Is this on the Island, or just some random beach? [SpoilersLost]

Apparently clues in the latest Lost posters include a flaming ankh in Hurley's hand, and an upside-down Oceanic logo. [SpoilersLost]

Dollhouse:

Felicia Day says the final episode, which she co-stars in, "wrap[s] up the storyline in an amazing way and I'm blown away by the writing." But doesn't really go into specifics. [TV Guide Magazine]

Supernatural:

Rejoice! Ash, the mullet-sporting nerd, will be back soon, says actor Chad Lindberg via Twitter. [Twitter via SF Universe]

Chuck:

Chuck's new abilities may include speaking Thai and sky-diving, among other things. Someone else besides Awesome will learn Chuck's secret this season (my money's on Morgan). Robert Patrick is playing a soldier from Casey's past, and Stone Cold Steve Austin is a baddie that Chuck gets trapped on a plane with. [Sci Fi Wire]

And here is a sneak peek, plus some new promos!

Caprica:

Here are some new featurettes about this BSG prequel:

Heroes:

Remember this series? Well, it remembers you. And here's what's coming up when it returns:

As Claire becomes immersed in the world of the carnival, she becomes increasingly suspicious of Samuel's motives; Hiro goes on a mission to rescue one of his own; H.R.G. recruits Matt to help him take down Samuel.

[SpoilerTV]

Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths:

William Baldwin (Dirty Sexy Money) plays Batman, and here are some pictures of Bats from this new original animated film. [Warner Bros.]

Additional reporting by Mary Ratliff.

Thor

Stan Lee has been tweeting about his cameo:

Due to Thor, I must start rehearsing my thee's and thou's. So, if thou objecteth not, I wish thee well! 'Nuff saideth.

He could be yanking our chains, but perhaps Lee won't be walking amongst the modern mortals. [Twitter]

John Carter of Mars

We get a casting call for several human characters and one Martian:

Synopsis: A damaged civil war veteran finds himself mysteriously transported to Mars where his involvements with warring races of the dying planet force him to rediscover his humanity.

[STABLE BOY] 9 yrs old, Mestizo – a mixture of European and Native American or Mexican decent, no lines, 1 scene

[DIX] The storekeeper, 40's – 50's, built like a lumberjack/longshoreman, strong & husky, 5 lines, 1 scene

[1ST ROWDY] Late 20's – early 30's, rough and dirty, worn looking, 1 line, 1 scene

[2ND ROWDY] Late 20's – early 30's, rough and dirty, worn looking, 1 line, 1 scene

[CAVALRYMAN/SERGEANT] Early 30's, clean cut, 2 lines, 1 scene

[US STOCKADE PRISON GUARD] Mid 20's – early 30's, clean cut, 4 lines, 2 scenes

[APACHE LEADER] 40's - 60s, Native American, must speak Apache, wise and experienced with a weathered face. Multiple lines, 1 scene

[TWITCHY CORPORAL] 20's - 30s, a shifty bad guy, not to be trusted. 1 line, 1 scene.

[YOUNG THARK WARRIOR] 20'S, tall (6' PLUS), athletic, experience working on stilts, MOTION PICTURE CAPTURE ROLE

[SpoilerTV-Movies]

Deadpool

Rumor has it that Zombieland writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick will pen the Deadpool script. [Cinematical]

Green Lantern

Ryan Reynolds wants to quell fears that he'll play the Green Lantern too close to Deadpool:

"I think there was some concern that I would make Green Lantern some kind of wise-cracking Wade Wilson-type, and that's not the case at all," he explained. "If that's what they wanted, why would I have screen-tested for the movie?"

[MTV]

Avatar

The final poster gives us more floating heads. [/Film]

Lesbian Vampire Killers

New images give us some busty bloodsuckers. [ShockTillYouDrop]

The Wolfman

The werewolf movie has earned itself an R rating from the MPAA "for bloody horror, violence and gore." [ShockTillYouDrop]

True Blood

We'll be seeing more of vampire Pam next season. Kirstin Bauer is being upgraded to series regular, and Pam is getting a "meaty" storyline — and maybe a girlfriend. [The Hollywood Reporter]

Lost

Jin and Sun have been filming scenes set in the alternate reality at the Turtle Bay Hilton. In those scenes, we'll also see Keamy, Omar, and Russian Other Mikial. [DarkUFO]

Striptease workout entrepreneur Sheila Kelley will be in at least four episodes this season, but won't be playing corporate spy Kendall. As for whether her stripping skills will coming into play:

"Once you see what I'm doing on Lost, you'll get the humor in that. I guess you can say I'm bringing some of the skills onto Lost, but not as obviously as you might think."

She also says she (Kelley, not her character) is "obsessed" with Sayid, leading to speculation that she'll have some scenes with Naveen Andrews. [E!]

And a set spy grabbed a photo of the new submarine. Larger image at the link. [DarkUFO]

Fringe

Walter's wife and Peter's mother has been cast at last. Irish actress Orla Brady will play the smart and likable third member of the Bishop family. [EW]

Better Off Ted

Creator Victor Fresco says that we'll see some progress in Linda and Ted's relationship by the end of the season, and the relationship between Linda and Veronica will begin to thaw. The two women will have a few adventures together and will develop a grudging, but mutual, respect. Ted's wilder brother comes to town, played by Eddie McClintock. Ted's brother hasn't had a lot of luck with Jobs, so Ted gets him a job at Veridian Dynamics. But his brother screws up one too many times, so Ted lands him a job selling lab equipment. Phil and Lem end up being his best customers, buying all sorts of stuff they don't need, including a cadaver supply membership. Key line: "Every day we get a new dead body whether we're finished with the old one or not." The show also gets a new cast member in Merrin Dungey. She appears in three or four episodes, including one episode where Linda tries to comfort her and ends up accused of sexual harassment. But Veridian deals with its sexual harassment problem by having it reclassified as a disease so that no one can sue for it. [E!]

Heroes

This season's 19th episode is titled "Brave New World." [Spoiler TV]

Additional reporting by Josh Snyder.

Since Edgar Rice Burroughs' books are public domain, Asylum is fre to create their own take on the story of Deja Thoris, even to the point of inflicting Traci Lords on us again. And of course, they get to tie in with the John Carter-inspired Avatar as well as the eventual John Carter movie.

Here's that trailer:

And here are some utterly dismal sills, showing Traci Lords in her be-bikinied glory:

[via Slashfilm and Undead Backbrain]

When we asked our friends to name their favorite swashbuckling heroes from SF books, first we had to figure out what exactly we meant by "swashbuckling." Here's what we came up with: A swashbuckling hero doesn't necessarily need to pack a sword — although it certainly doesn't hurt. A certain dapperness comes with the territory, or at the very least a unique sense of style. Words starting with "D" came up a lot, including dashing, debonair, defiant, dapper and daring.

What we found was that fantasy is full of swashbucklers — it's one of the hallmarks of the genre — but there are some amazing swashbucklers in science fiction too. (And we threw it open to include "urban fantasy," or anything which takes place in something akin to the modern world or the future.)

Here are our favorite swashbuckling heroes from science fiction books:

John Carter Of Mars (A Princess Of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs)

He's got the sword and the steely gaze, not to mention the old-school charm, and he's also got the mad adventures — the seemingly immortal Virginian gets zapped to Mars upon his "death" and wins the hand of the princess, Deja Thoris. He leads a company of Tharks to defeat the city-state of Zodanga, and then sacrifices his own life to save the atmosphere on Mars. (But then just winds up on Earth again.)

Here are some great Princess Of Mars covers and images, including some great art by Frank Frazetta:

Jack Half-A-Prayer (Perdido Street Station and Iron Council by China Mieville):

Even amongst all the other memorable and weird characters from Mieville's Bas-Lag universe, Jack Half-A-Prayer stands out, with his weird sense of style. One of the Remade, he's got a giant praying mantis arm, but instead of becoming downtrodden and full of self-loathing, he becomes a freedom fighter and a legend, until it finally catches up with him. Here's a great illustration of him that artist Nicholas William Kole created. (More of Kole's great art here.)

"Slippery" Jim DiGriz (The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison):

The first person that came to mind when we thought of this category — a grifter and adventurer who's always twenty jumps ahead of everybody else. Even though the love of a good woman softens him slightly, he never stops being a scoundrel. Still, if he ever runs for president on your planet, you'd be crazy not to vote for him.

Frank Rozvar (The Skies Discrowned/Forsake The Sky by Tim Powers):

As Earth's empire crumbles in the distant future, Frank Rozvar sees his father murdered, and is forced to flee to Munson Underground, the city under the planet's surface. He plots revenge — and it's a good thing he's an expert fencer as well as a stylish bastard. Although, as my friend Bill notes, Powers' early heroes tend to be more "grim and gritty" than "dashing and dapper."

The Librarians (The Greatwinter Trilogy by Sean McMullen):

Many buckles are swashed by these dragon librarians in a post-apocalyptic 40th century setting. They're forever fighting ritual duels, including battles (with very strict rules) in airships. These books are packed with derring-do and Errrol Flynn-esque feats of bravery and cunning.

Duncan Idaho (Dune by Frank Herbert):

This swordmaster in the service of House Atreides is a ladies man and an expert student of the Swordmasters Of Ginaz. The Harkonnens kill his parents and raise him to be hunted for sport — but he gets away. One of Duke Leto's right-hand men, he trains Paul in the arts of war. And when he gives his life to defend Paul and Jessica, he takes down no less than 17 Sardaukar soldiers.

Cugel The Clever (The Dying Earth books by Jack Vance):

A thief and scoundrel, Cugel displays tons of rambunctiousness and skullduggery. But he's also a dab hand with a sword, and he's very dapper with his triple-tiered hat, adorned with a "foppish bedazzlement." His roguish ways and indefatigible charm have won him his own Facebook group.

Speaker-To-Animals (Ringworld by Larry Niven):

One of the coolest of Niven's Kzinti, Speaker-To-Animals is slightly less likely to kill you on sight than other members of his race, but he's still a superb fighter and a total badass. He's too honorable to kill Louis Gridley Wu for meat, even when he's starving. Typical line: "I have a variable sword. I urge calm." Bad. Ass. (Art by A.C. Farley.)

Anthony Villiers (Star Well by Alexei Panshin):

A former viscount, Villiers gets fobbed off by his family and travels around the universe in the company of a giant toad named Torve, having crazy adventures. He's always getting himself caught up in duels and assassination plots, as he moves through the highest levels of galactic society without ever quite having enough money on hand. He's foppish, following the motto "Live as you dress" and doing both of those things well.

Drake Maijstral (Crown Jewels, House of Shards, &Rock of Ages by Walter Jon Williams):

Maijstral is an Allowed Burglar in a distant future when the human race has been conquered by aliens called the Khosali, who have subjected us to their regime of High Custom. Under this complicated set of rules, you can steal — as long as you hang on to the merchandise for 24 hours without getting caught. (One of the Khosali emperors was a kleptomaniac who wanted to legalize theft, hence the odd compromise.) Since all of Maijstral's exploits are recorded and broadcast, he becomes a huge celebrity with a great sense of verve and style.

Hiro Protagonist (Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson):

Protagonist's business card says it all: "Last of the freelance hackers and Greatest swordfighter in the world." He learns of the existence of a new drug called Snow Crash, that's both a computer virus and a reality-altering substance. He's the undisputed champion of in-Metaverse sword-fighting, because he helped write the code which makes swordfighting possible.

E.C. Gordon, aka Scar, aka Oscar (Glory Road by Robert Heinlein):

This war veteran answers an ad that asks, "Are You A Coward," placed by a beautiful woman. Then he goes on a quest and crosses swords with the Never-Born aka the Eater Of Souls, the guardian of the Egg of the Phoenix in Mile High Tower. (For some reason, the Eater Of Souls appears as a 17th century swordsman.)

Beka Rosslin-Metadi (The Price Of The Stars by Debra Doyle and James D. McDonald):

Okay, just look at the jacket, and the red eyepatch. And she's an amazing space pilot, freebooter and spacer by trade — who's turned her back on her famous military family. Until her mom is assassinated, and her father gives her the best spaceship around, the Warhammer, to look for the assassins. She leaves "a trail of kidnappings and corpses across four star systems," and blows the roof off the strongest private fortress in the galaxy. Rock on.

Pham Nuwen (A Fire Upon The Deep by Vernor Vinge):

Pham grows up in a post-apocalyptic Canberra that's similar to the Middle Ages, complete with swords, daggers and poison. Then the Qeng Ho arrive and he leaves with them. He becomes a legendary commander and Programmer-At-Arms. At one point, Pham Nuwen is held prisoner by some idiots, and he realizes that the computers on the ship had used smart dust long ago — which means he can hack into the computers by blinking, without anyone noticing.

Ed Chianese (Light by M. John Harrison)

Thrill-seeker, adventurer and virtual-reality addict, Ed Chianese "owes money to everyone in the universe." Writes Harrison, "From an early age, Ed Chianese had been some kind of drifter and sensationist. He couldn't remember what planet he came from. 'Maybe it was even this one!' He laughed." With his peroxide hair and cheap tattoos, he's dapper after a fashion.

Giraut Leones (A Million Open Doors by John Barnes):

Giraut lives in Nou Occitan, which is sort of like medieval Europe, with the dueling, the chivraly and the artistic dabbling. But then he goes to live in another one of the thousand human cultures in the far future — the sterile Caledony, which is like a McCarthy-ite, Christian repressive world. So he becomes the rebellious, sword-fighting hero of this crazy world.

Jay Kalam and his cohorts (Legion Of Space Series by Jack Williamson):

Kalam is commander of the Legion, and just in case you miss the Three Musketeers-i-ness of his group of stalwart fighters against the renegade Purple and the evil Medusae, one of his friends is named Samdu (an anagram of "Dumas.")

Owen Deathstalker (Deathstalker by Simon Green):

Heir to a warrior name, Owen Deathstalker lives a quiet life as a historian, until the Empress names him an outlaw, and he's forced to flee, and help organize the rebellion against the Empress Lionstone.

Additional reporting by Mary Ratliff. Thanks to Bill Brickman, Jed Hartman, Chris Hsiang, Andrew Liptak, Dennis Woo, Wayne Nix, Angela Cooper, Zack Stentz, Tim Jones, Jonathan Korman, Tom Marcinko, Espana Sheriff, Richard Kadrey, Chris Hall, Allan Ebalo, David J. Schwartz, @RainOnRoof, Jenn Reese, John Klima, another Tim Jones, Cheryl Morgan and anyone else I missed for the suggestions!

Captain America:

Marvel's Joe Quesada says he's seen a couple outlines and an initial screenplay, and (not surprisingly) he liked them. He also said, "It's very unexpected, the kind of movie it is." (Meaning, it's not a war movie with superhero overtones, wrapped in a mad-science plot device?) And he says this movie sets up the Avengers movie "in a fantastic way." And there's a wish list of actors to play the star-spangled Steve Rogers. [Comic Book Resources]

Inception:

Talulah Riley, who plays the character referred to as "Blonde" in the cast list, says she takes part in some of the weird altered-physics scenes you glimpsed in the trailer, where people are going sideways and upside-down. "I get tilted." She says she gets scenes with Leonardo DiCaprio, Cillian Murphy, Tom Hardy and Ken Watanabe. [Sci Fi Wire]

And here's a set pic showing DiCaprio and Ellen Page during filming in Paris, looking utterly ordinary. More at the link. [SplashNews via Cinemablend]

Cowboys And Aliens:

Co-writer Roberto Orci describes a key concern in adapting this graphic novel to the big screen:

How do you make it so it's not too funny? You hear the title Cowboys & Aliens and think, what is it? Is it Wild, Wild West? The exact same structure and story can kill you if you have the wrong tone. That's the hard part." As Kurtzman noted, "It's not a comedy. What we came to is imagine you're watching Unforgiven and then the aliens from Alien land.

[IGN via ComicBookResources]

John Carter Of Mars:

Willem Dafoe, who plays the many-limbed Tars Tarkas, says "I know there's a period where we're going to work with movement and language." (No clue what that means.) And he say the film is political, the same way Tarzan isn't just about loincloths. [MTV]

The Fourth Kind:

How many kinds of intriguing are these new stills? Four, possibly? [IGN]

Lost:

No news is good news for Sawyer, who isn't facing any terrible maladies or other mishaps in the final season, as far as semi-informed sources know. [E! Online]

There are a ton of set reports. The show is building yet another new set — an old-looking struture at the top of the Lighthouse trail — and it may actually be the base of a lighthouse, or some other island station. Part of the building may be added later using CG.

Meanwhile, those photos we showed you the other day, of Matthew Fox in front of a building with concert banners hanging down? Apparently that building is being turned into Central Intermediate School. And Jack had scenes with a new character, Dogen (Hiroyuki Sanada) who is one of the the show's "new Others." (And good to see the show continues its tradition of naming characters after famous thinkers.) So it's interesting that one of these Others is off the island. Also, Jack and Hurley had some beach scenes with Jacob.

And finally, Fox also filmed some scenes at the Institute of Astronomy, reportedly involving Jack's estranged mother. More pics at the link. [Hawaii Weblog]

Co-creator Damon Lindelof was interviewed on a local radio station, and a caller expressed a concern that Juliet and Kate aren't kicking as much ass as they used to. Lindelof replied that if you like the badass versions of Kate and Juliet, you'll really love the show's final season. Man, here's hoping. [Lyly Ford]

Sarah Jane Adventures:

A nice new pic from the upcoming David Tennant appearance. If you don't give a quiet "W00t" when you see this pic, there is no hope for you. [David Tennant News via Doctor Who on LJ]

V:

Another new promo, focusing on Father Jack.

Supernatural:

Anna will definitely be back. Soon, we hope. [E! Online]

FlashForward:

Dominic Monaghan says episode six (airing next week) is his big episode. And his character, Simon, gets pretty messed up. Also, you'll be shocked and amazed to hear the show will keep going deeper into the rabbit hole, and spinning out more mysteries, as the season goes on, and then things will start coming together again by season's end. [E! Online]

Here's a sneak peek from this week's episode, "Gimme Some Truth" [FlashForward.pl]

Heroes:

Do you care? If you do, apparently the guy who dies is the one person many people think could never bite the dust. (So, probably not Nathan or Hiro. My money's on Sylar or Matt.) [E! Online]

Additional reporting by Alexis Brown.

Green Lantern

Comic book writer Rob Liefeld, who is close to the Green Lantern production, revealed some over-arching aspects of the setting and plot:

He has seen most of the storyboards for the Green Lantern film and he claims that it looks fantastic. He said that if they could translate what is on the storyboards to film, the movie would be amazing. Over one-third of the movie is set on OA, the home world of the Green Lanterns. The film will have numerous Green Lanterns, including fan favorite Kilowag and Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) mentor turned archenemy, Sinestro.

[Comic Book Movie]

Pandorum

Heading out to see Pandorum today? Here's a quick clip to tide you over until you get to the theater:

Pandorum Exclusive Clip

The Hobbit

Despite his claim that he doesn't want to play any more Gandalf-like characters, Ian McKellen says he will be returning as Gandalf the Grey, his favorite version of Gandalf and Peter Jackson's as well:

He slept in the hedgerows; he was closer to the earth and not quite so spiritual. He's also funnier — he's got more variety to him. We thought there was more scope in that Gandalf.

[CinemaBlend]

John Carter of Mars

Makeup tests are currently underway for the Edgar Rice Burroughs adaptation, and Lynn Collins, who plays the Martian princess Dejah Thoris says she won't appear in heavy prosthetics, but will instead have more of a "tropical island" look. [MTV Movies Blog]

True Blood

Stephen Moyer says that the third season of the hit series will be heavy on the werewolf action. [ShockTillYouDrop]

Supernatural

CW has a new promo for the post-apocalyptic episode "The End:"

V

Here is the promo that aired during last night's FlashForward:

[Ausiello]

The Sarah Jane Adventures

David Tennant will appear in two episodes of the third season. Here is the official description for the October 15th premiere:

In the first of this two-part adventure, Sarah Jane and the gang face the most dangerous day of their lives, as the rhino-like Judoon return. When prisoner Androvax the Destroyer crash-lands on Earth, a Veil is set free and starts to turn Earth's technology against itself. And his next intended victim is Sarah Jane.

And for the second part, airing October 16th:

As the Judoon fleet approaches Earth, it's a race against time to stop Androvax. But with Genetech's technology on the rampage, and Rani's parents taken prisoner, can anything stop the Army of the Infinitesimal?

The BBC also lists off some of the other oddities Sarah Jane and the crew will encounter:

The series also features an extraterrestrial girl who can make people play games against their will; a living painting; the inhabitants of a supposedly haunted house; and monsters who want to infect Earth with a strangely aggressive weed. Finally, there is a chance for Sarah Jane to find personal happiness with someone who could be the perfect person to complete her family.

[Blogtor Who]

Doctor Who

Darren Garrett shows off some of the character design for the animated Doctor Who: Dreamland:

[Blogtor Who]

Heroes

NBC has released an extended preview for the next episode, "Ink:"

Ice queen Tracy warms up to a powerful new man in the fourth episode, "Acceptance:"

[Heroes France]

FlashForward

Some very funereal photos from episode three, "137 Sekunden:"

[Spoiler TV]

And here is an interview with Sonya Walger and Joseph Fiennes:

And another with John Cho and Courtney B. Vance talking spoilers:

[Zap2it]

In an interview with Digital Spy, Sonya Walger says that FlashForward doesn't have the mythology of a show like Lost, instead focusing on the fallout from that single event. [Digital Spy]

Smallville

Here is the Canadian promo for tonight's season premiere:

[Spoiler TV]

Vampire Diaries

It's party drama on next week's episode, "Family Ties:"

Elena (Nina Dobrev) asks Stefan (Paul Wesley) to escort her to the town's annual Founder's Party. Vicki (Kayla Ewell) gets Tyler (Michael Trevino) to ask her to the party, then accuses him of trying to hide their relationship from his family. Zach (guest star Chris William Martin) reveals a useful family secret to Stefan. At the party, Damon (Ian Somerhalder) tells Elena a story about the Salvatore family's past, leaving Elena with questions that Stefan refuses to answer. Finally, Stefan takes action to get Damon out of his life for good. Steven R. McQueen, Sara Canning, Katerina Graham, Candice Accola and Zach Roerig also star.

[ShockTillYouDrop]

At least one casually dressed vamp hangs out in the sunny woodlands in the sixth episode, "The Lost Girls:"

[Spoiler TV]

Minority Report's Samantha Morton and The Wire's Dominic West have joined the cast of the Disney version of Edgar Rice Burroughs' classic novel. So now we're sure that future crime in Baltimore won't be a problem for the movie.

Morton and West are joining the already-announced co-stars of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Taylor Kitsch and Lynn Collins, as well as Willem Dafoe. Morton will play Dafoe's daughter, Sola, while West's character will be the Zodangan prince Sab Than, who feels that Mars' rule should be his.

Also joining the cast will be Rome's Polly Walker, as Sarkoja, described as "a merciless, tyrannical Thark."

The movie is expected to start production early next year.

Threesome on journey to 'Mars' [Hollywood Reporter]

Connor MacLeod from Highlander.

Born in 1518, he is an Immortal, doomed to walk the Earth and watch everyone he loves grow old and die — but eventually, he must battle the few other remaining Immortals for the Prize. And in the end, wait for it... there can be only one.

Captain Jack Harkness from Torchwood.

He's just your average run-of-the-mill con man from the 51st century, until he dies, and the temporarily all-powerful Rose Tyler brings him back to life. Only now, he's a "fixed point in time and space," eternally young and invulnerable forever, no matter what. His wife dies of old age, his daughter is the same age as him, and eventually (maybe) he'll be just a head in a giant jar.

Jenny Sparks from Stormwatch and The Authority.

Born in 1900, she stops aging when she reaches her 20th birthday. Maybe its to do with the fact that she's a being of pure electricity. In any case, she befriends Hitler, visits an alternate universe where she marries an alien prince, and finally gets to join two of the Wildstorm Universe's biggest super-teams, until she finally dies at age 100.

Wolverine, from the X-Men.

Logan used to be just a guy with a tremendous healing ability, but recent comics (and his new movie) revealed that he's actually ageless, and fought in the Civil War and every big war since then. He can smoke as many cigars as he wants, and he never gets weird cigar-related wrinkles. Various comics have shown him surviving long past the end of the world, or at least vastly outliving all his compatriots.

Enoch Root in Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle and Cryptonomicon.

One of the great mysteries of Cryptonomicon was how Enoch Root managed to show up, hale and hearty, 55 years after he dies in 1945. We eventually do learn that Root has the secret of rejuvenation, which he uses to keep himself (and sometimes others) alive.

John Carter of Mars, from the novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Even before he gets whisked off to Mars, aka Barsoom, he's mysteriously gifted with eternal youth. And no matter how many times they try to kill him, he always comes back. (Although sometimes, he comes back on Earth instead of Barsoom.)

Nick Fury and (maybe) his Howling Commandos, from Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Nick Fury (the comics version, not the movie version played by Samuel L. Jackson) fought in World War II, where he gave his eye for his country. But he's miraculously still young and spry in the present day — and he didn't get frozen in an iceberg, like Captain America. Instead, Nick Fury got exposed to something called the "Infinity Formula," and (at least in some versions) so did his men, including "Dum Dum" Dugan — who's now been going by "Dum Dum" for 70 years.

Lazarus Long, from Time Enough For Love by Robert Heinlein.

Born in 1912, Lazarus Long is the third generation of a selective breeding experiment by the Ira Howard Foundaiton, so he lives for nearly two thousand years in good condition — with only the occasional rejuvenation treatment required. And he eventually finds out that he actually can't die.

Claire Bennet, from Heroes.

The cheerleader doesn't really seem to need saving — it turns out that even scooping her brains out can't kill her, and it's been hinted she'll stay young and healthy forever. At least, Sylar believes that hundreds of years from now, only he and Claire will still be running around, and eventually they'll fall in love. Or something.

Richard Alpert, from Lost.

Is he a hero? We're still not sure. He's definitely taken part in some questionable decisions, but who hasn't on this show? In any case, he's mysteriously ageless, whether we see him in 1954 or the present day. Here's hoping we find out his secret this coming season.

Runners up: Superman (who ages in some versions but not in others), Kane from the sword-and-sorcery novels by Karl Edward Wagner, Wonder Woman, Samantha from Bewitched, Dorian Grey, The Endless from Sandman, Thor, Takeshi Kovacs from Richard K. Morgan's novels, John Amsterdam in New Amsterdam, Peter Pan, Earthworm Jim, Aes Sedai from the Wheel Of Time, Kai on Lexx, and a host of robot/cyborg characters.

Additional reporting by Alexis Brown. Thanks also to Matt Jones, Ron Hogan, Ekaterina Sedia, Jason Shankel, Missy Feigum, Hiya Swanhuyser, Victor Infante, Jefferson Robbins, Jessy Randall, Stephen Tiano, Becka Robbins, Jennifer Brissett, Ashley Edward Miller, Andrew Liptak, Paul McEnery, Ryan Britt, Yoz Grahame, Shannon Rosa, Espana Sheriff, Lisa Heselton, Lane Kneedler, Naomi Alderman, Darren McKeeman, Robert Hewitt Wolfe, Shane O'Brien, Hanne Blank, Lucas Zen Hannon, Mariah Bear, Lun E'Sex, Micky Shirley, Swill Magazine, and anyone else I forgot!

Tar Tarkas befriends the transported Civil War soldier, John Carter when he winds up on Mars. The Tharks are normally an unfeeling race, but Dafoe's character is different — and after deciding not to kill John Carter, the two become friends. Now he must teach his green people peace. Luckily, it's not ss if Willem Dafoe hasn't already tackled even more ridiculous characters. With Andrew Stanton's skills, and a few other perks, this movie could become a huge sensation. But it also could slip away from mainstream audiences pretty easily.

We'll have to wait a long while to see — production supposedly doesn't start until 2010.

[The Hollywood Reporter]

Green Lantern:

Thank goodness, that flawed draft of this superhero movie's script we reviewed a while back wasn't the final version. Screenwriter Marc Guggenheim says he just turned in another draft. And he calls it a "loving, respectful approach" that draws from comics throughout the character's decades in comics. [Sci Fi Wire]

Inception:

A couple of minor details about Chris Nolan's widely anticipated next movie. Joseph Gordon-Levitt confims he has a fairly major role in the film, and says Nolan has a particular way he wants the project to be unveiled to the public — suggesting there's some kind of mystery or secret inside the film. Also, the Calgary Sun quotes sources as saying a lot of filming will happen around Fortress Mountain, with an elaborate set being built. This film's only description says it takes place within "the architecture of the mind" — could that literally be a type of architecture? [MTV and Calgary Sun]

The Time Traveler's Wife:

We showed you a smaller version of this movie's poster the other day. Now here's the giant version. [New Line Cinema]

G.I. Joe:

Someone who claims to have seen a test screening of this powersuit epic has a fairly damning review. There are tons of silly one liners and far fetched tech, but the film also tries to ground itself in today's sociopolitical reality. G.I. Joe is actually a branch of NATO that recruits members from all over the world. The story revolves around a suitcase full of warheads full of self-replicating, super-destructive nanomachines, which keeps changing places between COBRA and the Joes, over and over again. Also, the film starts with a 1700s era flashback explaining villain James McCullen Destro XXIV. Oh, and those famous power suits don't turn up that much in the movie. [Slashfilm]

John Carter Of Mars:

Add another star to this Martian epic. Thomas Haden Church told an interviewer he'll play a role that's "very dramatic," which people are guessing refers to Tars Tarkas, an alien warrior who butts heads with John Carter but eventually becomes his sidekick. [Reel Talk via The Cinema Post]

Wanted 2:

Timur Bekmambetov told Russian media that he plans to start shooting this sequel late this fall or in the winter, and shooting will take place in America, India and Russia. Also, he claimed he's found a way to bring back Fox, Angelina Jolie's character. Also coming back: the Executioner, played by Kostya Khabenskiy. [Coming Soon]

Lost:

There's now mutual interest between Dominic Monaghan and the producers for having Charlie reappear in this show's final season, sources say. [E! Online]

Battlestar Galactica:

Ronald D. Moore says "The Plan," the TV movie airing this fall, has lots of surprises, even though we know how the story ends now. There are lots of breadcrumbs and tidbits that give us a new slant on the events we already know. And apparently the focus of the movie is in-fighting among the Cylons, after their scheme to wipe out humanity leaves resistance fighters and a fleet of refugees. [Wired]

Supernatural:

Sources say Anna will reappear next season. Yay! [E! Online]

True Blood:

In next week's episode, Jessica is having trouble adjusting to her new vampy status, and she misses her family, so she asks Sookie to drive her to her parents' house so she can take a look. But she ends up nearly killing her dad before Bill steps in, and blames Sookie for stirring up a mess of trouble. Also, more is revealed about Tara's boyfriend Eggs, who spent time in prison for drugs, armed robbery, and assault. Lafayette asks Eric to turn him into a vampire. And Sam turns into a dog again. [E! Online]

Also, in season two we'll go deeper into Eric's character and realize that he actually has a sensitive, loyal side. He doesn't like that many people, but if he likes you, he'll be a great friend. [Sci Fi Wire]

Eureka:

Here are the titles of the first four episodes of the new half-season: "Welcome Back Carter," "Your Face Or Mine," "Insane In The P-Brane," and "It's Not Easy Being Green." [SpoilerTV]

Additional reporting by Alexis Brown.

"Utah has become Hollywood's destination spot for depicting exotic intergalactic worlds.," notes the state's Salt Lake Tribune, citing the new Star Trek, the original Planet of the Apes, and now, the adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' pioneering Barsoom saga.. But while Star Trek spent just four days shooting in the Beehive State, the Tribune reports that director Andrew Stanton's (WALL-E) production will spend at least seven months there, including 45 days of filming. The state has other ties to Burroughs; he served as a railroad cop in Salt Lake City in 1904.

Burroughs' John Carter novels, about a Civil War vet who finds himself doing a lot of alien-fighting and princess-rescuing on the planet next door, are the source of what will be the first live-action movie for much of the Pixar team. The script, co-written by Stanton, got a recent polish from Michael Chabon. We've been waiting for a good John Carter movie since, oh, about 1917, so the prospect of Disney's 2012 release fills us with childlike glee. No doubt Utahns feel the same way; the $28 million and 400 jobs the production is expected to bring to the state should more than make up for losing the Footloose remake to Georgia. (With Chace Crawford instead of Zac Efron in the lead? Georgia can have him.)

Michael Chabon, author of such books as The Amazing Adventures Of Kavalier & Clay and The Yiddish Policemen's Union, has signed on to rewrite the script for Disney's big-screen adaption of A Princess of Mars, the first of eleven books in the John Carter saga. Chabon's previous screenwriting experience is writing a draft of Spider-Man 2, although only about a third of his material made it to the finished film.

Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood Daily on the LA Weekly website first mentioned this news last Wednesday in passing in a post about Chabon switching agents; the post listed John Carter of Mars as one of his screenwriting credits.

Intrigued, Chabon fansite The Amazing Website of Kavalier & Clay contacted the man directly. Chabon confirmed the story:

"I've been hired to do some revisions to an already strong script by Andrew Stanton and Mark Andrews," Chabon said. "I wrote my original screenplay The Martian Agent back in 1995 because I wished I could do [Edgar Rice] Burroughs's Barsoom. So this is pretty much a dream come true for me."

Tarzan creator Edgar Rice Burroughs first began exploring his vision of Mars, which he called Barsoom after the native Martians' name for the planet, in the 1912 serial Under the Moons of Mars, which was later collected and published in 1917 as Princess of Mars. The books follow John Carter, a Civil War veteran who is inexplicably transported to Mars and plunged into civil war between the dying planet's many inhabitants.

Thanks to his bravery in battle and extensive military skills, Carter quickly earns the respect of the warlike Green Martians, but their capture and imprisonment of the Red Martian Princess Dejah Thoris soon tests his newfound allegiances. Building off of nineteenth century astronomer Percival Lowell's long since debunked notions of Mars, including the planet's infamous supposed canal system, Burroughs spun a pulpy tale of epic adventure and romance that influenced the likes of Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, and Carl Sagan.

Disney gained the rights to the John Carter books in 2007, after Paramount gave up on the project. Previous adaptation attempts had included directors such as Robert Rodriguez and Jon Favreau. Current director Andrew Stanton is best known for his work with Pixar, where he directed Finding Nemo and Wall-E. Stanton and Mark Andrews completed a first draft in 2008; it is unclear whether Chabon will be simply revising or completely rewriting the script. The movie is currently set for a 2012 release date to mark the centenary of the original serial.

[The Amazing Website Of Kavalier & Clay]

Artist David Krentz posted his concept art of Woola, from the same Paramount production that Favreau was in line to produce, and possibly direct:

Let's hope Andrew Stanton's Mars includes aliens with the same level of loveability mixed with scariness. [Twitter]

These images of wars fought by the creatures of Mars were created by Joel Rothberg for a limited-edition run of the novel that started Burroughs' beloved series about the Martian land called Barsoom. Adventurer John Carter sword-fights and swashbuckles his way across the red planet, where everyone (conveniently) goes around naked, and the natives occasionally sport more than two arms.

What's striking about these images, which Will Schofield just posted on his blog A Journey Round My Skull, is that they reveal a side of Carter's adventures that surely Burroughs barely understood at the time he began the series in the early twentieth century. Burroughs wrote at a time when imperialist expansion was alive and well in many Africa nations as well as India - regions that were models for Barsoom. By the time Rothberg created these dark, horrifying images in the 1960s, most of the former colonies in both areas had been liberated by anti-colonialist forces. Adventurous white men exploring in "savage" lands no longer felt like a fun story anymore. It felt like the beginning of a long and terrible series of wars in the twentieth century.

And so Rothberg, looking back on Burrough's light tales, saw only darkness, violence, and despair. I think we can be certain that Pixar's live action version of the series will attempt to restore the light-heartedness of the original. What that says about our current relationship to the history of imperialism - well, I'll leave that for you to decide.

See more of the Rothberg's images at Journey Round My Skull.

Stanton spilled many beans - and corrected many rumors - during the Santa Barbara Film Festival this weekend. He revealed that, despite what many thought, Carter would not be a Pixar movie, but instead come out under the Disney banner, even though it will be created using a lot of Pixar talent. The script is already in its second draft, and Stanton expects the movie to have a shorter development time than his animated movies due to his long-standing love of the original stories; he joked that he's been developing the movie in his head since childhood.

The look of the film will be "very real," and not highly-stylized, due to what Stanton sees as the way the original story has been ripped off by many different movies over the years; it'll also be a faithful retelling, with Carter remaining the Civil War soldier that he was in Burroughs' original. Again, despite what many have been saying, the film will be both live action and not shot in 3-D (although he feels that Disney may end up disagreeing with him on that latter point), and he's suitably daunted by the prospect of live action directing, commenting that,

It is huge, it is exciting, it scares the crap out of me. It’s either going to make me or break me.

We're betting on the former; Stanton is a very talented man, and this continues to look like the ideal movie for him.

Quint has JOHN CARTER OF MARS info from Andrew Stanton! [Ain't It Cool]